Biblical roles

I believe that God has a different plan for each of us at the different steps of life that we are in. God has made distinct roles for each time in a person’s life. Here is a very summarized and brief explanation of the MAIN roles god has given individuals at each level of age. Again I emphasize that these are the main roles not the only roles

Children:
In short the biblical role for children is to obey their parents (Eph 6:1) and grow in their love and knowledge of the savior. It is at this stage that an individual is trained in character and habits of abstaining from evil that will stick with them the rest of their lives. This is the section of life when statistically most people come to salvation (Mat 19:14).

Single people: aka teens and young adults
While it is still extremely important for individuals at this stage in life to continue learning more about God, their focus shifts to include the importance of ministry (1 Cor. 7:32, 34). A lot of Christians and churches today (including SBCC to some extent) I believe focus to much on teaching youth to abstain from evil and not enough on the importance of service. However scripture makes it clear that the christian life has two aspects; abstaining from evil and service (James 1:27).

Adults:
While the roles of learning and serving continue, the role of an adult expands to take on the new aspect of teaching. This is divided into two sections; parenting (Prov. 22:6), and teaching in the church (1 Cor. 12:28).


In case anyone was wondering were in the world this completely random post came from it was inspired by 1) working with children in CEF and 2) thinking about what I think the roles of the youth and children’s ministries should (in my ever so humble opinion) be at the new church.

True Success

God showed to me this last week just how much I judge success of anything I do by the outcome of it. If it’s a test, by what score I get. If it’s playing the violin, how few mistakes I make. If it’s working with kids, how well they behaved and how many decisions for Christ were made. But God has been showing me that it’s not just about visible outcomes. If all the kids at day camp are being little brats that doesn’t mean I’m a failure or that I should just give up loving on the kids and go about the day half-hearted. No. There are things and outcome going on that I can’t see. I am still required by the word of God to work at that activity with all my might as working for the Lord not men. I used to look at that verse and think that the hard part about obeying that verse was doing hard activities. But maybe the hardest times to obey that verse might be when we have to fight the mental battle against thinking that we’re failures and wanting to give up. So don’t give up my brothers and sisters. Continue of working for the Lord. Because even when you can’t see the labor of your work you can know that your labor is for the Lord not men.

Does God Twitter

(a very) Random Update

Since it’s been forever since I’ve posted I figured I would just post a bunch of random stuff. All of these are things I could have made a whole post about but haven’t.

- Went to see transformers 2 today. It was mediocre. But what is it with action packed movies and destroying beautiful buildings. I mean forget the fact that there are people dying, buildings are being destroyed here (am I a future architect or what).

- During my last quarter at Whatcom I was frustrated that my teachers were so big on needing to cite sources to back up my ideas. I’m thinking that for me personally I don’t care about sources. Unless it’s someone really famous I don’t really care if someone else agrees with you. Then I began to realize that it’s because I have the word of God to base my judgments off of. These people need sources because that’s all they have. Kind of sad.

- It switches off about every other day as to whether I’m excited, nervous, or dreading University of Washington.

- Work (Child Evangelism Fellowship day camps) begins on Monday. I CAN’T WAIT!!!

- I have a Facebook so that’s part of the reason I haven’t been blogging lately

- I love Rascal Flatts

- Did I mention I was excited about CEF

- I miss my Russian friends. Those guys were amazing and I’m totally missing getting to see at least one of them every day. I’m hoping to go to their church this Sunday for anyone who is interested

- Something else Christian should go here so you don't think that my life is all about secular things.

- Looking back I’ve grown a lot socially in the last two years. My entire first year I was so unsociable. My entire first year pretty much the only reason I sat with Silver Beachers was because it was better than having strange faces around. But now I’ve really begun to break out of my “home school shell” and enjoy being around people. Actually I’m kind of missing getting to be around people every day. Well at least certain people.

- The new church is very exciting!

Well that was my completely random update on my life. Did I mention I can’t wait until CEF begins!!!

here

I'm alive. Honest. A new post is comming soon.

Hannah Montana- Hoedown Throwdown Music Video

You you're lame and desperate when the best you can do for a blog is find the lamest video you can find on youtube and post it.

God is awesome

God has definitely been leading my decision into which university I should go to. The last 4-5 month have been hectic and strenuous at times as I had some really big decisions come up about which school I was going to attend. It all began back in December when I was applying to WSU I began thinking about how nice it would be to live closer to home and began to reconsider UW. So I applied and was accepted to both schools. Now the decision process began. Relooking at things we began to remember the reasons we liked WSU better to begin with: UW has an extremely difficult acceptance into the 2nd year of the program (as in one in three get in). And then my fafsa (financial aid) from UW came in from UW and it didn’t look pretty so things weren’t looking good for UW.
Then dad and I took a trip to UW to talk with advisers there (we talked with WSU last summer). There we realized that even if I took one year at UW I might be able to switch/apply to more than one school for my second year which might ease up some of the stress about having not getting into the second year of the program. After that we began looking at the actual costs o living on campus and realized I could get a triple room instead of a double and buy some meals at the grocery store instead of at the cafeteria to save on money. Then on top of that Fafsa came back from WSU looking even worse than UW. So it seamed very clear that this was how God was directing me.
Now believe me this was just an over view and there were WAY more details I left out. There were so many ups and downs on this trip to deciding which college and I wish I could say I was patiently waiting on God through them all but I must confess that I got really stressed a lot these last 5 months. But now I look back and I’m so thankful for how faithful God was.
BTW I bought the sandstone colored tee-shirt (see post bellow).

Si hubiera estado alli Jesus Adrian Romero Ayer te vi

Thanks for sharring Emily. Awesome song.

Beck Studio Guest Passes Out On Air - NOT Scripted!

New Again - Brad Paisley and Sara Evans

One of my favorite easter songs.

Ok so maybe off on a few details.

Which shirt?

So which shirt should I buy? Vote on my poll at right.



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Just buy a WSU shirt. They're so much cooler and no one will notice right?

Rascal Flatts - Here Comes Goodbye - (HD) Official Music Video

My random life

1) School is out

2) I think I got A’s and I’m hoping I didn’t get any of those nasty minus signs

3) I still haven’t made my decision between UW and WSU.
a. UW is closer and I have friends going there.
b. WSU has a higher acceptance rate (you only know if you’re accepted after the first year in the program)

4) One more quarter and I’ll have gotten through 2 years of WCC without a B. *crosses fingers* Every finals season my mom tells me I should have just gotten a B that way it wouldn’t be so dramatic when I finally got one.

5) My point, Abbie, was that while a lot of people believe that “ing” words such as going, leaving, and heading imply a current state of action, this is actually a common mistake as noted by countless children every Sunday morning when they are told “we’re headed for the car”. Gosh it doesn’t sound as funny now as it did in my head.

6) I’m excited about working in CEF this summer

7) After reading the Narnia series the last year, I finished the Last Battle on Monday. Now I’ve begun The Hobbit. Both are classics but they’re both good.

Finals is comming

Finals are comming... AAAAAAAAHHHHH. Please pray that i wouldn't get so bogged down in the sturying and forget The most important thing, God. I get so stressed thinking about grades, but seriously, in the grand scope of things does it really matter if I an A- instead of an A? Now if I were to get a B... ok, just kidding. It doesn't matter. God is good through it all (even if I have to move to Mexico because I got a B).

Praise God

Dad had his first day at work yesterday. Prase God for his provision. Please continue to pray that dad would be able to make sales because it's a commision only type of job.

What God has been teaching me lately

God has been showing me that while I’m a schedule person and need to plan out a specific time of day for my devotions other wise it doesn’t get done, I need to have more flexibility during my quite time. I’m to much of a: I’ve read today’s devotional, check. I’ve read my scripture for today, check. I’ve had my time of prayer for today, check, type of person. God has been showing me that someday I might need more of one component of my quite time than I do other days and that it’s alright to cut another part short or even *gasp* cut it out all together for the day. So there you have my random bit of what God has been teaching me lately for today.

This morning at breakfast

Me: so I hear that the Subway in Ferndale got robbed on Monday

Undisclosed family member: There's a subway in Ferndale?

Me: Yup

Undisclosed family member: No. Where does it go?


Oh, life is good

Randomness

Just to proove how brave I am to Abbie I put both Nickleback and Green Day on my playlist. I thought about putting Stacey's Mom by Fountains of Wayne on there but my better judgement won out. It's kind of a funny song in a twisted sort of a way for anyone who is brave enough to look it up.

Well today I got accepted to UW. So now I have a decision to make. I still need to find out from them how well my credits will transfer down there and the only way I can do that is to go to one of their "transfer Thursday's." In case you couldn't tell by the name it's on thursday's in the afternoon which is when my Spanish class is which I really can't skip which makes it really inconvenient. So I think I'll go down there durring spring break. I also have to wait to hear back from FAFSA (financial aid) before I can finalize my choice. I also emailed Montana State today to find out more about their architecture program.

Ps. The councilers at UW are really anoying. I tried calling them today to find out about transfering credits and for all of my questions she kept saying "did you look at our website?" Yes I did, that why I'm calling you idiot.

My testimony

I don’t remember the date when I first asked Jesus into my heart and even as a child I prayed a sinner’s prayer several times. However even though I don’t remember the date, I remember one time when I was about 5 of 6 I was sitting on the couch being bored and I remember feeling very aware of being a sinner separated from God. I remember looking all around the house, not being able to find mom, and being very sad because I needed to ask Jesus into my heart right then. Well finally I found my mom outside and we prayed together.

I wish I could say that from that time on I was perfect but that would be another sin to add to my repertoire. I was not a good kid. While it may be hard to believe, at 7 years old I was quite a ladies man. Kind of scary. Heading into my preteen and early teen years, things didn’t get much better. I didn’t get along with my parents or my younger brother, I couldn’t care less about school and I couldn’t wait until the day I would move out. Well God in his sovereign hand began to use my own sinful motives to begin to mold me.

Around 14 I realized that if I was going to be able to move out, I would have to go to college which would mean starting to actually care about my schooling. So I began to work hard at my school and started to show a little more respect towards my parents. My heart still wasn’t devoted to following God, but then God began to change me. There wasn’t any one defining moment but through a series of events such as a move, new friends, new church, and an experience at Christian Youth In Action (C.Y.I.A.) camp God had really brought me to the point of desiring to please him.

Now I still can’t say I’m perfect (all of you reading this know me to well for that), but God has really helped me desire to live for him. I no longer am longing to move out. In fact I dread the thought of moving out this fall. There are still many aspects that I wish God would suddenly make me perfect in, but he continues to mold me and I am forever grateful for what he has done for me.

I thinned my hair.

So I got through today and neither Hannah or Emily noticed that I thinned my hair. Woot!!! (in case you were wondering they gave me a hard time when Hannah hilighted her hair and I didn't notice.)

Long weekends are awesome

I love long weekends. So far this weekend I've gone to two parties, visited a friends church and had my Cousins from Portland over. And we still have tomorow off of school. But I dread going back on Tuesday. I'm really not a big fan of school at all.

Wow this post was completely random.

Sleep Depraved #2

You know you're sleep depraved when

1) you spend two minutes at night arguing with yourself about whether you should set your alarm for 6:42 or 6:43 the next morning.

2) You send Hannah an email explaining about the atachment that you just so happen to forget to attach.

In all this sleep depravedness, I didn't forget to get my GF something. Mrs. S. Posted the pics on her site here. (would you look at that I actually remembered to actually include the link before hitting the publish now button.)

It's not long but it has a photo

So Valentines Day is next Saturday and like any good boyfriend I got my GF a present

CEF

Woot CEF sesion is just around the corner. I can't wait. Applications are due March 14 so if you're interested talk to either me or Holly about an application. And if you know of any guys that are interested we would LOVE to have more guys. (Emily you should talk to your Victor about it.)

WSU here I... maybe come

Woot! so yesterday I got accepted to WSU. I haven't totally decided whether I prefer going to UW or WSU but it's good to know that at least one of them will take me. It was funny, the second line of the acceptance leader said that now that I've been accepted they want me to send them $200 ASAP to confirm my plans to enroll there. Fortunately it doesn't have to be paid until May 1st. By then I should have heard back from UW.


Oh, and to add even more options to the mix, I'm looking at applying to Montana State. When I took the ACT I had my scores sent there and since then they've been hounding me with mail and phone calls trying to get me to apply. Plus they say they will offer $8,000 in scholarships per year which might be really nice. But at least for now I know that I have at least one option.

Why

So probably most of you have heard by now that within his first week in office, president Barack Obama has already put forward his stance on abortion by allowing the continuation of government support to organizations that perform abortions. Let me say that if you don’t believe unborn babies are not really human, I can sort of understand how you could think abortion is ok. However I don’t understand why anyone would want to use government money to support such abortion. If your ignorant and thus think it’s ok is one thing, but why do we have to support it?

If this sounded at all disrespectful, I’m sorry and that was not my intention. Just letting off a little steam (I’m sure Hannah and Emily could come up with a better term for that.)

I can't think so I'll be random

Waaaaaahhhh... I just remembered that set my alarm again for tomorow morning. Man the weekend is nice. Spanish is killing me. The thing is since my teacher gives practice tests I could probably just studdy the practice tests and do way less work and still get a good grade, but no, it's that stupid thing called a work ethic that makes me want to actually learn the darn material.

I'm so soar. On saturday a bunch of us helped out a family from our church who had had a mudslide right next to their house the last big rain storm we got. So I spent an entire day hauling 35-50 pound sand bags straight up a hill that was steaper than Alabama, about 3/4 as long and that had so tough a terrain it was at times slightly difficult to find a footing. Fun fun.

Randomness

To be completely random I thought I would start off with a couple of book recomendations

My utmost for his Highest - I know everyone knows about it and I've even recomended on my blog before but let me just say once again that it is an amazing book.

"Hankbook to Prayer: praying scripture back to God" by Keneth Boa. An outstanding prayer book consisting of lots of great bible verses. Truly amazing.

Ok on a little more corny side, tonoght my GF won the limbo contest at the all church family skate night. I was so proud of her. I felt like such a nervous parent watching her every round. But in the end she was amazing. I do have to say that I feel sorry for you abbie, but only, you had nothing on Aidoo.

Do I need coffee?

Today I got home from school and decided I needed some coffee. So I made myself a cup just fine and dandy. When I had poured my cup of coffee…

“ah the smell of Caffeine,” said I.
Janel responded sarcastically, “you don’t need coffee do you? You can’t be tired.”
“Yes I need coffee” retorted I.

Then I turned around but apparently I must have turned around to fast because with a swoosh my coffee sailed up and over the rim of my cup and from there proceeded to quickly make its dissention to the floor below where, with a terrific splash, it made a ever so messy puddle on the floor. Case in point: you know you need coffee when you can’t even keep the coffee in the cup.

And for anyone who was wondering I’m not complaining about school. Hannah and me decided that it’s grief sharing not complaining (she’s taking a head-shrinking class incase you couldn’t tell).

I survived

So I maid it through the first week of school. Spanish is going to be a killer. But I've heard from two sources that the first couple of weeks are the worst. It seams kind of strange that I have two tests already on Thursday. Who has to take tests on the second week of school

Abbie, you'll be glad to see that I added a history for you.

Back to school

If you had of asked me four days ago if I was ready to go back to school I would have said no way. But now I think I am. Both of my College application (UW & WSU) are sent in and I think I'm ready to take this on. So... Here I go. Back to school again (what joy).

This past week was actually really cool. You see, every day I made a schedule and every day I didn't think that I would be able to complete as much as I needed/wanted to get done in that day. But God proved himself awesome and everyday I completed my list of things to do.

Origami

Ella: I'll warn you that I'm welled versed in the ancient art of Origami.
Bad dudes: Paper folding?
Ella: I hoped you wouldn't know what that was.

So while you all are recovering from the fact that I just quoted from a chick flick on my blog, I would just like to inform you about the new hobby that my little brother has picked up and gotten quite good at.

Does this swan look familiar to any WCC people?

In case you were wondering there's a swan, ninja star, dog, ninja star thingy, and throwing nives pictured above.